In the Northern Hemisphere at least, the idealised vision of Christmas involves snow. Whilst no one snowflake is exactly the same as another, at least on a molecular level, scientists have none-the-less devised a system of classification for the many types of crystals that snow can form. This graphic shows the shapes and names of some of the groups of this classification.
If you’re an asthma sufferer, you likely need at least one inhaler to keep your symptoms in check – or maybe even two different types. Commonly, those afflicted with asthma will have both a blue and a brown inhaler. Whilst the colours can vary, the purpose of the chemical compounds contained therein differ dependent on the particular inhaler.
The current ebola virus epidemic in West Africa has dominated the news in recent months, and in the past week, several medical organisations have announced their intention to commence trials with possible treatments for the virus in the coming months. Two of these treatments are the anti-viral drugs brincidofovir and favipiravir, chosen due to some promising data on their potential efficacy against the virus, as well as their non-prohibitive costs. Here, we take a look at them in a little more detail.
One for the chemistry students (and teachers!) out there today, with a look at how we can work out the shapes of some simple molecules using Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory. These shapes are decided by the arrangement of electrons around the central atom in the molecule.
If you’ve ever needed a tooth out, or had surgery of any kind, chances are you’ll have experienced use of an inhalational anaesthetic. All of the compounds shown above can induce general anaesthesia, and a range have been utilised since the initial discovery of nitrous oxide in the mid-1800s. Often, intravenous drugs will be used for induction of anaesthesia, but inhalational agents may then be used to maintain this – this graphic looks at how the drugs in use for this purpose have varied over the years.
Today, 23rd October is Mole Day – which might put you in mind of small, furry, burrowing animals. However, they don’t even seem to have a commemorative day of any kind; we’re actually talking about the mole in chemistry, a concept that makes it easier to talk about the amounts of substances involved in chemical reactions. This is a fundamental concept and one that all chemists utilise.
